voluntary organisations, social enterprises and volunteering
voluntary organisations, social enterprises and volunteering
voluntary organisations, social enterprises and volunteering
Scottish Household Survey Shows Volunteering is on the Rise - But Not Everyone is Benefitting
Created: 28/09/2026News/Events Category: Volunteering
New figures show that volunteering in Scotland is continuing to recover, but persistent inequalities and changing patterns of participation present challenges for the sector.
There is good news for volunteering in Scotland.
The latest Scottish Household Survey results for 2025 show that 27% of adults in Scotland volunteered with a group, club or organisation in the last year – equivalent to an estimated 1.25 million formal volunteers.
After a period of disruption and decline, the continued recovery in volunteer participation is certainly something to celebrate. But dig a little deeper into the figures and a more complicated picture emerges.
The data shows that while more people are volunteering overall, who volunteers, how often they volunteer and the roles they take on are changing.
These were the key findings for formal volunteering:
- Formal volunteering participation has continued to recover in 2025
- Volunteering is becoming less frequent and more low‑intensity
- Adults in Scotland’s least deprived communities now volunteer at double the rate of those in the most deprived communities
- The percentage of volunteers who fulfil committee member and Trustee roles fell from 27% to 23%
Click here to read the full breakdown.
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